2018-2022 Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
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December 1, 2008 in Bishop messages
In the midst of financial fear and geopolitical uncertainty, “there is a future before us brighter than all the glitz we have been worshipping for too long,” Bishop Claire S. Burkat writes in a message to the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, ELCA.
“Our God is calling us, indeed begging us, to lead a life worthy of the calling to which we have been called,” Bishop Burkat writes.
The current challenges facing the Church and the nation are “a seismic shift, incomprehensible to anyone but God,” the bishop writes. Quoting the prophet Isaiah, Burkat points to God’s promise of hope and direction amidst adversity: “Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” (Is. 30:20-21)
“In the face of uncertainty and fear all people need to be reminded of who they are, and whose they are,” the bishop writes. “They need community around them for both comfort and challenge. They need know they belong to a larger purpose.”
On the fiscal front, congregations and leaders can help by assessing their own spending and priorities and helping their members and neighbors address their own financial affairs, the bishop writes.
“But please – please — as you are considering the congregation’s budget and your own monthly spending, I beg you: Do not forget the poor!” Burkat writes. “Cut back on everything else possible before cutting your charitable giving. When the dominoes are falling, the poor and marginalized, the children and elderly, the sick and infirm get hurt the worst.”
The bishop sees the spirit of optimism evident since the election of America’s first African-American president as further evidence of God’s guidance through these troubled times. “This is an opportunity for interracial healing as well as global modeling of the greatest of our American principles, that all people are created equal and should have the same opportunity and civil rights,” she writes.
The full text of the bishop’s message follows:
The darker the sky, the brighter the stars will shine. -Persian proverb
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
We are at a crossroads of seismic proportion. Our current national and world situation seems to fit Charles Dickens’ famous line: It’s the best of times and the worst of times.
Our financial system is melting down before our eyes, and people are losing homes and jobs. A costly war in Iraq drags on, with more international crises in the wings, while trust in American leadership ebbs. Our schools, our health care system and the automotive industry are in peril. There is an urgent global imperative to save the environment and find alternative energy while we still have time.
In many ways we are waking up from decades of delusion and denial, which could easily slide us into despair. It is the worst of times and, yes, also the best of times.
The prophet Isaiah said it: Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Then you will defile your silver-covered idols and your gold-plated images. You will scatter them like filthy rags; you will say to them, “Away with you!” (Isaiah 30:20-22)
We are at the intersection of a seismic shift, incomprehensible to anyone but God. We need to start looking for our Teacher, for Christ to show us the way saying: This is the way; walk in it. Now is the time to shift to the next understanding and new insight, which is undeniably before us.
In the face of uncertainty and fear all people need to be reminded of who they are, and whose they are. They need community around them for both comfort and challenge. They need know they belong to a larger purpose. In the midst of this we as church leaders need to be reminded of our call, and supported in our serving. We need hope and courage and strength and discipline. We need to hear anew St. Paul’s urgent plea: I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called. (Ephesians 4:1)
These times fill us with financial fear. Let’s start with those filthy rags Isaiah spoke of. In regard to the financial excesses that led to the current crisis, maybe some of us were greedy, and some of us were naive, and some of us were just immature. I believe the vast majority of us were oblivious, in denial, and perhaps even anesthetized by material possessions, responsibilities, stress, family issues or work pressures. People are now being forced out of complacency and oblivion, and are tumbling into fear and uncertainty. For many, denial has turned to despair.
For those among us who grew up with the legacy of the Depression, hard times were personal, family problems to be dealt with privately. Our current economic crisis is unprecedented in scope and in how public it is. People are cutting back, anxious about jobs, health coverage, retirement accounts and their children’s education, and they are talking out loud about their fears. The end of our materialistic psychosis has ushered in a new age of honesty and reality. Many people are sharing their true situations, a kind of reverse boasting, unleashing tales of poor and arrogant investments, or irresponsible purchases.
It’s like you are minding our own business, working on your computer, when it suddenly goes dead, crashes. The dreaded blue screen appears. You reboot; no good. You panic! Your writing, your checkbook, your photos are gone. So you take the computer to the tech gal who tells you it needs to be wiped clean, and all the programs need to be reinstalled.
This is not bad news, this is good news! We are all getting a chance to reinstall the very essentials of the life God wants for us. This crisis is an opportunity to clean out the cobwebs in our hearts, and toss all the clutter and stuff and values that were smothering and choking us.
In the midst of our loss and confusion, the prophet Isaiah consoles us with hope: Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. Truly, O people in Zion, inhabitants of Jerusalem, you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when he hears it, he will answer you. (Isaiah 30:18-19)
So how do we faithfully determine what is of value? What will we keep? What must be tossed?
First, as church leaders we can begin by taking an inventory of our own lives and spending habits. Examine your checkbook, and you will see your priorities. Start with yourself. (I am doing this myself.) Engage a friend or confidant, or if you are a couple, meet with another couple whom you trust to sit down and look over your budget to help you objectively cut back — like the popular financial guru Suze Orman does when she says, “You are denied, Girlfriend!”
Next, one of the best things you can do for your congregation is to arrange for competent and faithful financial advisors to set up day-long workshops to help people address their personal credit crises. This has to be more than a financial planning seminar, it needs to be a safe and trustworthy time in which people can examine their past directions and chart a new course, more like a 12-step meeting than a workshop. This is no time for shaming and blaming. People need help, and if they don’t get the help they need, where do you think your congregation’s finances will be in year or two?
But please – please — as you are considering the congregation’s budget and your own monthly spending, I beg you: Do not forget the poor! Cut back on everything else possible before cutting your charitable giving. When the dominoes are falling, the poor and marginalized, the children and elderly, the sick and infirm get hurt the worst.
As dark as things appear on the economic horizon, there is a sense of hope evident in our nation since November 4. I can hardly add to what already is being said and written about the most exciting election in the history of our nation. Even those who did not vote for President-Elect Obama are acknowledging the significance of the nations’ choice for president.
After 232 years of racial disparity, an African American man is moving to a house that was built by slaves. After centuries of slavery and discrimination — not to mention the years of discouragement, Jim Crow laws, and racist groups like the KKK that intimidated the Black electorate — we can honestly say with Bob Dylan: “The times they are a-changing.”
An African American man and an African American woman who were not born to wealth and privilege but were both raised with integrity and courage and hope are saying: This is the way; walk in it.
This is an opportunity for interracial healing as well as global modeling of the greatest of our American principles, that all people are created equal and should have the same opportunity and civil rights.
I believe there is hope and there is a future before us brighter than all the glitz we have been worshipping for too long. Our God is calling to us, indeed begging us to lead a life worthy of the calling to which we have been called. We truly are all in this together.
Locally, our congregations can and must make more of a difference. Two weeks ago I attended a breakfast for religious leaders hosted by Mayor Nutter. He was outlining the challenges facing the city, and that was before the financial shortfall for the city got worse.
One of the leaders in attendance asked him, “What can churches do? How can we as religious leaders support your leadership and help this city?” His answer was immediate and compelling; just two words: Education and safety. “This is the infrastructure of a just society,” the mayor said.
Every congregation in this Synod can be a blessing in every neighborhood. Discern what God is asking of your congregation and DO IT!
Mayor Nutter praised the church community for hosting, supporting and publicizing the wildly successful gun drop-off program. Goods for Guns make the neighborhoods safer by surrendering unwanted guns in exchange for $100 Shop Rite gift certificates. Hundreds of guns were taken off the streets. The churches did this!
Our churches serve these and many needs in our neighborhoods, and we can do more.
Listen again to the Prophet Isaiah: “Though the Lord may give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
We need leadership with different attitude and tone. It is time for collaboration, cooperation and imagination! This is the way; walk in it!
With and in Christ,
The Rev. Claire S. Burkat
bishop
2018-2022 Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
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